About: Dr. Thompson is the director of refractive surgery for Vance Thompson Vision in Sioux Falls, S.D., as well as professor of ophthalmology at the Sanford USD School of Medicine.

He obtained his medical degree from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. Then he completed his residency in ophthalmology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, followed by his fellowship in refractive surgery at Hunkeler Eye Centers in Kansas City.

Dr. Thompson is a leading researcher in laser vision correction, both in the United States and internationally. He has been a principal investigator or medical monitor lead in many FDA-monitored clinical trials involving laser and implant vision correction of myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. And he participated in clinical development of refractive laser-assisted cataract surgery, a blade-free cataract removal procedure. Currently he conducts research in hyperopic LASIK, implant vision correction and presbyopia correction.

He has been published in many books and journals and often delivers lectures, teaching refractive surgery to thousands of eye surgeons worldwide.